The Evansville IceMen were a minor league
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
team in the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The ...
in
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
. The franchise was originally a member of the
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...
before it merged into the
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
in 2010. The franchise has won four post-season championship titles in the
UHL in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005. The franchise played one season at
Swonder Ice Arena before moving to the
Ford Center beginning in the
2011–12 season.
The IceMen were formerly known as the
Muskegon Fury from 1992 to 2008, and
Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...
from 2008 to 2010. The IceMen franchise replaced the original
Evansville IceMen
The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise has won four po ...
that were a part of the
All American Hockey League before folding in 2010.
The franchise went dormant after the
2015–16 season and were replaced at the Ford Center by the
Evansville Thunderbolts
The Evansville Thunderbolts are a minor league ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The team plays at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The team replaced the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL.
History
During the 2015†...
in the
Southern Professional Hockey League. The IceMen franchise had ECHL approval to relocate to
Owensboro, Kentucky, pending a complete renovation of the
Owensboro Sportscenter
The Owensboro Sportscenter is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Owensboro, Kentucky. It is the home of the basketball teams of Kentucky Wesleyan College and Owensboro Catholic High School. It has been the home to three minor-pro basketball tea ...
. However, the team's ownership was unable to obtain the financing for the renovations and the deal with Owensboro was voided in September 2016. In January 2017, part of the franchise was sold to an ownership group based out of
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, and approved by the league on February 8. The league announced it would return to play in the 2017–18 season and became the
Jacksonville Icemen
The Jacksonville Icemen are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Jacksonville, Florida, that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team is affiliated with the New York Rangers and plays their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Are ...
.
History
On February 8, 2010, it was announced that the Muskegon Lumberjacks would move to
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
as the Evansville IceMen at the conclusion of the 2009–10
International Hockey League season, replacing the team with the
same name, and played their home games at
Swonder Ice Arena. The
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...
would then award an expansion team to Muskegon taking on the name
Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...
.
On July 13, 2010, the International Hockey League merged with the
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
, retaining the name
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
. The merger had the
Bloomington PrairieThunder
The Bloomington PrairieThunder were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Illinois. They were a member of the Central Hockey League in the Turner Conference. The team was originally a member of the United Hockey League (later ...
,
Dayton Gems
The Dayton Gems were a minor league ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, and members of the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977, and 1979–1980.
In the fall of 1964, the lobby of their new arena, Hara Arena, had a natural gas ex ...
, Evansville IceMen,
Fort Wayne Komets
The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...
and
Quad City Mallards
The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...
IHL franchises move to the Northern Conference of the CHL.
In 2011, the IceMen moved their home games to the new
Ford Center in Evansville, playing in the inaugural event for the arena.
On May 17, 2012, the IceMen were formally were accepted into the ECHL, with membership to begin in the
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season. On June 15, 2012, the IceMen announced an affiliation with the NHL's
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
and its primary
AHL affiliate, the
Springfield Falcons. Before the resumption of the new season on August 30, 2012, the
Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs:
*Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984
*Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005
*Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013
*Peoria Rivermen (SP ...
announced that the IceMen would be their ECHL farm club, cutting ties with the
Alaska Aces.
The IceMen announced on June 5, 2014, that they had hired Dwight Mullins as the new head coach and was joined by former IceMen player Josh Beaulieu as assistant coach. Prior to the
2014–15 season, the IceMen agreed to a new affiliation contract with the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
and their AHL affiliate, the
Binghamton Senators, after losing their Blue Jackets affiliation. In January 2015, Mullins was replaced by
Al Sims due to a poor start to the season (9-16-4).
On November 16, 2015, team owner Ron Geary wrote a letter to the IceMen fans that the team's operating lease with the Ford Center was ending after the 2015–16 season. Despite attempts to negotiate a lease extension with the city since February 2015, the two parties had not yet come to an agreement on new terms with the upcoming December 1 deadline (later extended to Dec. 15 and then again to January 6 when the 15th deadline was not met). Evansville had been reported to have been paying the highest rent in the ECHL since moving to the Ford Center in 2011, with as much as $650,000 per season compared to the league median of about $152,000. The City of Evansville and Geary were unable to come to an agreement before the final ECHL deadline and Geary began relocation discussions with the City of
Owensboro, Kentucky. On January 19, it was announced that Geary had agreed to terms with Owensboro and intended to relocate the team to the
Owensboro Sportscenter
The Owensboro Sportscenter is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Owensboro, Kentucky. It is the home of the basketball teams of Kentucky Wesleyan College and Owensboro Catholic High School. It has been the home to three minor-pro basketball tea ...
if the IceMen were forced to leave the Ford Center. On February 8, 2016, the City of Evansville announced that it had secured an
expansion team in the
Southern Professional Hockey League to play at the Ford Center beginning in the
2016–17 season, thus displacing the IceMen franchise from Evansville. Finally, on March 14, the IceMen and the ECHL announced the franchise's relocation to Owensboro has been approved but the franchise would have to go dormant for the
2016–17 season to allow time for the necessary renovations on the Owensboro Sportscenter to be completed. However, by September 2016, Geary still had not taken over management of the Sportscenter and the City of Owensboro announced a different management company would take over the Sportscenter on October 1. On the September 30 deadline, Geary sent a letter to Mayor Ron Payne stating he would not be purchasing the Sportscenter because of too much cost to convert and refurbish the arena.
In January 2017, Geary sold the sold part of the franchise to an ownership group based out of
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, and the relocation was approved by the ECHL on February 8, 2017. Geary remained as the primary owner.
Seasons
See also
*
Sports in Evansville
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...
References
External links
Evansville IceMen official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evansville Icemen
Defunct ECHL teams
Ice hockey teams in Indiana
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2016
Ice hockey clubs established in 2010
Sports in Evansville, Indiana
Columbus Blue Jackets minor league affiliates
Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates
2010 establishments in Indiana
2016 disestablishments in Indiana